Thornhill Elementary School
Welcome Thunderbirds!
Dear Thornhill Families,
Welcome Back to our returning families and Welcome to our new families! School starts on August 21st Eclipse day! I hope everyone had a fun and restful summer. Summer is such a great time to recharge, be with family and explore the great outdoors and take a moment to slow down. I look forward to talking to our Thunderbirds and hearing their summer adventures!
In regards to the eclipse on Monday, our staff has been working diligently to plan for students to be able to view SAFELY. Through the generous support of parents and the OUSD Science Department, we have sufficient eye wear so that all students have the opportunity to see the eclipse. We will cross our fingers that it won't be a foggy day. Teachers will conduct lessons on how to safely view the eclipse. Rest assured students will be supervised during this event. We got this!
MINIMUM DAYS-The First 2 Weeks- As usual the first two weeks are minimum days for assessments. Please make sure you have signed up to have your child assessed after school within the first two weeks. The bulletin board is outside of the office. Once you register and have received your child’s class placement then you can sign up.
Teacher Professional Development Minimum Days for Science: We are fortunate to have a very pro science staff and we are Focusing on Science Literacy this year. In order to support teachers with this focus we will have these Fridays as minimum days: October 6th, November 3rd, February 2nd, March 2nd, May 4th & June 1st.
Mark your calendars!
Please help me welcome our new staff members
Welcome Nancy Steimle in Kindergarten. Nancy brings years of experience and most recently taught at Montclair.
Welcome Back Zettie as our part time attendance clerk.
Welcome Cybele McHardy as one of our stip subs
Welcome New (PFC) Classroom Aids Rebecca, Meredyth, and Dan
Last, but certainly not least Thank you to all the PFC members who have been working so hard to make our school a great and positive place to be. Many have been volunteering all summer. Extra Special Thanks to Shauna and Shanyn our Co Presidents.
See you Monday morning bright and early! I am looking forward to seeing all of you!
Sincerely,
Mr. Daubenspeck
REMINDER
PFC Enrichment Classes
Information about all the classes and the schedule is on our website (www.thornhillschool.org/after-school-programs). Registration occurs during the first 2 weeks of school with enrollment starting on Monday, Aug. 21 and classes beginning on Monday, Sept. 11.
Volunteering at Thornhill
Please be aware that OUSD policy states that anyone chaperoning field trips and community members who are volunteering (more than 11 times in a year) at school must now be fingerprinted through Live Scan. If you are volunteering at school on a regular basis, you must also have an up to date TB test.
To be begin the process of registering to become an OUSD volunteer, please visit: http://www.oaklandedfund.org/volunteer/.
Questions? Please email: Lilly Smith or Hong Thach at info@oaklandedfund.org
Traffic & Safety 101
The morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up can be very busy times at Thornhill. In order to make the drop-off time as safe as possible for everyone in the neighborhood, please adhere to the following options in the morning. Here are a few helpful guidelines that helps to ensure the safety of everyone.
- U-turns in front of the school are ILLEGAL. Go 200 yards north on Thornhill to Merriwood Dr. where the road is MUCH wider making it possible for a safe and legal place to make your U-turn.
- NO double parking in front of the school.
- NO parking is allowed on the East side of Thornhill Avenue between Alhambra Lane and Gouldin. This is a pedestrian through way and illegal parking here makes for an especially dangerous situation.
- Do NOT park in front of the apartment buildings on Thornhill Drive. It is private property.
- The white-painted curb is for student loading and unloading only. By law, the drop-off can take no longer than 3 minutes and the driver must stay with the car.
- NO parking at a red curb. (Yes, people do this). It blocks the view of cars turning from Gouldin.
- Always stop for pedestrians at any of the three crosswalks.
- All TK and K parents need to park and be with their children on the playground until the first bell rings at 8:20am.
SAVE THE DATES
- Monday, August 21: Welcome Back Coffee (after drop-off, outside by back entrance)
- Wednesday, August 30: Back to School Night (6-7 p.m.) Note: This is a no-children event, so please arrange for care for your child(ren).
- Tuesday, September 12: Parent Faculty Meeting @6-7:30 p.m. (childcare will be provided for Thornhill students only)
- Saturday, October 28: Annual Walkathon
About the PFC
The Thornhill Parent-Faculty Club (PFC) eNews team publishes this weekly newsletter each Friday in the school year to communicate school, PFC and OUSD news, events and information.
Email submissions to our Newsletter Chair, Rex Crum, at newsletter@thornhillschool.org by 3 p.m. Wednesday for approval, including Word or Text files, with links and no formatting, and photos preferably as 150 x 150, 72 dpi JPG or GIFs only (not embedded in email or word file). Submissions may be edited for spelling, grammar, brevity and clarity. Advertising is not accepted.
THANK YOU to everyone who submits articles and to PFC Board Members, Teachers, co-VP of Communications Erin Proudfoot and Pamela Schwartz, PFC Co-Presidents Shauna Fithian and Shanyn Lloyd-Gibson and Principal Steve Daubenspeck. Member of Oakland Unified School District (OUSD).
Email: Newsletter@thornhillschool.org
Website: http://thornhillschool.org
Location: 5880 Thornhill Drive, Oakland, CA, United States
Phone: (510) 339-6800